Grosse Pointe Blank

Grosse Pointe Blank
The theatrical poster.
Directed by	George Armitage
Produced by	Susan Arnold Donna Arkoff Roth Roger Birnbaum
Written by	Story: Tom Jankiewicz Screenplay: Tom Jankiewicz D. V. DeVincentis Steve Pink John Cusack
Starring	John Cusack Minnie Driver Alan Arkin and Dan Aykroyd
Music by	Joe Strummer
Cinematography	Jamie Anderson
Editing by	Brian Berdan
Studio	Caravan Pictures
Distributed by	Hollywood Pictures Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s)	April 11, 1997
Running time	107 min.
Country	US
Language	English
Budget	US$15,000,000 (estimated)
Followed by	War, Inc.

Grosse Pointe Blank is a 1997 American comedy film, directed by George Armitage, and starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver.

In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Grosse Pointe Blank the 21st greatest comedy film of all time. The film's soundtrack features mainly independent music hits from the 1980s.

Plot

Professional assassin Martin Q. Blank (John Cusack) finds himself depressed and irritable, dissatisfied with his work and the increasing competition from rival assassins, including Grocer (Dan Aykroyd), whose efforts to cartelize the business puts him at potentially lethal odds with the solitary Martin. Following a botched contract, Martin receives an invitation to his 10 year high school reunion in his home town of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Initially reluctant to attend, he is pressured into it by both his (understandably nervous) therapist (Alan Arkin) and his secretary (Joan Cusack), already booking him for a contract to re-establish ties with a disgruntled client over the botched contract.

Upon arriving in Grosse Pointe, Martin seeks out Debi Newberry (Minnie Driver), now a radio DJ, whom Martin had abandoned on prom night to enlist in the Army. While Debi's visit suggests hope for redemption, Martin's subsequent visit to his family only heightens his depression; his father is dead, his mother is an emotionally disturbed resident of a nursing home and his childhood home has been demolished and replaced with a convenience store. Reconnecting with friends like Paul (Jeremy Piven) is likewise depressing, as many have integrated themselves with the local community through mundane establishment jobs. When asked about his livelihood, Martin readily reveals that he is a professional killer, a response taken as a joke by everyone he meets. Meanwhile Martin is being stalked by rival hitmen, including Grocer and Felix LaPoubelle (Benny Urquidez), a Basque terrorist hired to kill him; as well as two awkward National Security Agency agents (Hank Azaria and K. Todd Freeman), briefed by Grocer, waiting for him to do his "job" so they can kill him. Despite these dangers, Martin remains distracted by his desire to make amends and procrastinates, not even bothering to glance at the background dossier on the prospective target.

At the reunion, Martin mingles with his former classmates, one of whom hands him her adorable toddler. Martin stares into the child's face and experiences an existential transformation, recognizing that his recent dissatisfaction with his work and his amends with Debi signify an opportunity to change his life. Moments later, reflecting on his decision while exploring the halls of his old high school, Martin is attacked by LaPoubelle, whom he kills in self-defense. Debi stumbles upon the scene and, horrified to find that Martin was not joking after all, flees the reunion. Paul follows only moments later to find Martin, who corrals him into helping to dispose of LaPoubelle's body in the school furnace. Later Debi confronts Martin in his hotel room, where he reveals that psychological testing in the Army revealed "a certain moral flexibility" that made him suitable for a CIA-sponsored "mechanical operations program." After leaving the CIA, he went into business for himself. His rationalizations for his work only horrify Debi even more; she rejects his attempts at reconciliation, and storms out. Martin, concluding that it is futile to attempt to change his life, fires his psychiatrist over the phone and finally opens the dossier containing the details of the contract that brought him to Grosse Pointe – and is startled to find that the target is Bart Newberry (Mitchell Ryan), Debi's father, who is scheduled to testify against Martin's client.

Grocer decides to stop waiting for Martin to kill Bart and attempts the job himself, to impress Martin's client and boost his own business. Out of loyalty to Debi, and his newfound care for life, Martin abandons the contract and rescues Bart from certain death, speeding him to the Newberry house and holing up inside, narrowly ahead of Grocer and his team of mercenaries. During the siege, Martin finally reveals that he stood Debi up on prom night to enlist in the Army to channel his strong homicidal urges away from his family and friends. Martin gradually kills the team of mercenaries, the NSA agents (with Grocer's gleeful help) and Grocer himself, moments before proposing marriage to Debi. Debi, shell-shocked from the day's events, doesn't respond. Hours later she and Martin speed out of Grosse Pointe together.

Cast

• John Cusack - Martin Q. Blank
• Minnie Driver - Debi Newberry
• Dan Aykroyd - Grocer
• Alan Arkin - Dr. Oatman
• Jeremy Piven - Paul Spericki
• Joan Cusack - Marcella
• Hank Azaria - Steven Lardner
• K. Todd Freeman - Kenneth McCullers
• Benny Urquidez - Felix LaPoubelle
• Carlos Jacott - Ken
• Mitchell Ryan - Mr. Bart Newberry, Debi's father
• Jenna Elfman - Tanya, the alum in the neck brace
• Steve Pink - Terry Rostand, the security guard
• Michael Cudlitz - Bob Destepello
• Ann Cusack - Amy, the drunk alumna who says hi to Martin and Debi in the restaurant
• Screenwriter D.V. DeVincentis - Dan Koretzky
• Barbara Harris - Mary Blank
• Belita Moreno - Mrs. Kinetta
• K.K. Dodds - Tracy
• Bill Cusack - Waiter

Soundtrack

The score for Grosse Pointe Blank was composed by Joe Strummer, formerly of The Clash, and includes two songs from The Clash, "Rudie Can't Fail" (from the album London Calling) and their cover version of Willi Williams' "Armagideon Time".

In addition to The Clash, the tracks featured are a mix of popular 1980s punk rock, ska and New Wave from such bands as Violent Femmes, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Specials, The Jam, The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees and a-ha.

The soundtrack album reached No. 31 on the Billboard 200 chart, prompting the release of a second volume of songs from the film.

While most songs played throughout the movie, and even more specifically the reunion, are true to the period of the students' graduation (circa 1986), several songs are contemporary:

• The Guns N' Roses version of Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" was recorded in 1991.
• "El Matador", playing during the dance scene at the reunion, was released by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs in 1993.
• The Specials' version of Pressure Drop was recorded in 1996. The song was originally recorded by Toots and the Maytals in 1969.

Several songs in the film are not featured on the soundtrack albums.

Track listing

Volume 1

1. "Blister in the Sun" (Violent Femmes) – 2:08
2. "Rudie Can't Fail" (The Clash) – 3:31
3. "Mirror In The Bathroom" (English Beat) – 3:09
4. "Under Pressure" (David Bowie and Queen) – 4:03
5. "I Can See Clearly Now" (Johnny Nash) – 2:46
6. "Live and Let Die" (Guns N' Roses) – 3:02
7. "We Care a Lot" (Faith No More) – 4:03
8. "Pressure Drop" (The Specials) – 4:18
9. "Absolute Beginners" (The Jam) – 2:50
10. "Armagideon Time" (The Clash) – 3:53
11. "El Matador" (Los Fabulosos Cadillacs) – 4:34
12. "Let My Love Open the Door (E. Cola Mix)" (Pete Townshend) – 4:58
13. "Blister 2000" (Violent Femmes) – 2:58

Volume 2

1. "A Message to You, Rudy" (The Specials) – 2:53
2. "Cities in Dust" (Siouxsie & the Banshees) – 3:49
3. "The Killing Moon" (Echo & the Bunnymen) – 5:44
4. "Monkey Gone to Heaven" (Pixies) – 2:56
5. "Lorca's Novena" (The Pogues) – 4:35
6. "Go!" (Tones on Tail) – 2:32
7. "Let it Whip" (Dazz Band) – 4:24
8. "The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight" (Dominatrix) – 3:40
9. "War Cry" (Joe Strummer) – 5:58
10. "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" (Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel) – 7:24
11. "Take on Me" (a-ha) – 3:46
12. "You're Wondering Now" (The Specials) – 2:37
13. "99 Luftballons" (Nena)-3:52

Similar film

According to Joan Cusack, the 2008 film War, Inc. is an informal sequel to Grosse Pointe Blank. Both films are black comedies with similar styles and themes, and both films star John Cusack as an assassin and Joan Cusack as his assistant, with Dan Aykroyd in a supporting role.^[1]

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Grosse Pointe Blank

• Grosse Pointe Blank at the Internet Movie Database
• Grosse Pointe Blank at Allmovie
• "The Recesses of High School" by Jo Scott-Coe, in River Teeth 9.2 (Spring 2008)